


Daylight

by penguin_parties



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Forbidden Love, Inspired by Music, Love, M/M, Requited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-25
Updated: 2013-01-25
Packaged: 2017-11-26 19:39:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/653725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penguin_parties/pseuds/penguin_parties
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'When the daylight comes I'll have to go, but tonight I'm gonna hold you so close. Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own, but tonight I need to hold you so close."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Daylight

**Author's Note:**

> Yay for my first fanfic uploaded on this site weee! This is inspired by the song Daylight by Maroon 5. For some reason I decided that a member of the boys' management would be named Maurice and Harry's pet name for Niall is 'boo'.. Enjoy!

                It’s not too late at night when Harry creeps into Niall’s hotel room and hastily strips down to black boxer briefs, wasting no time before quietly slipping into the empty space beside the blonde  – it’s only half past eleven actually. It wasn’t hard to get a room key – he asked for it when they were all checking in, when no one was paying attention. The woman at the front desk handed it to him along with a room key for his personal room without questions – they were all in one party so it couldn’t be that big of a thing, and, after all, who could say “no” to Harry Styles?

                After the boys had all settled into their bedrooms – Harry with Liam, Louis with Zayn, and Niall by himself – Louis had come to see if anyone wanted to join him and Zayn in their room for a while to hang out. Harry had objected, saying he was too tired – even though he knew Louis and the others would be far too loud for him to sleep – but Liam happily agreed and said a quick, nonchalant good bye as he and Louis left the room. Then, when the laughter in Louis’ room died down, and Liam failed to return to his assigned room – which Harry would have realized was a bit out of the ordinary had his mind not have been too focused on a couple other things – Harry tip toed out the room and a few feet down the hallway, Niall’s room key in his hand.

                When the click of the door unlocking went off and a little creak erupted from the hinges on the door and light from the hallway flooded a section of the floor, Niall didn’t think any of it at first. Harry had snuck in numerous times before in the past and Niall must have become immune to the signs of a person entering his room over time. His only reaction was a sniffle and a little twitch of his leg. Harry smiled at his sleeping…whatever Niall was – boyfriend, friend, friend with benefits? Their relationship was not exactly defined since they kept whatever they had between them and the discussion of what exactly they were to each other had never come up – until the day prior at least. Harry closes the door quietly behind him and sets the room key on the top of the television, then sheds his clothes and places them on a chair by the table in the corner of the room. He’s left in only his underwear as he approaches the side of the bed that hasn’t been filled in by a sleeping blonde and lifts up the covers, sliding in easily. Once he’s comfortable he snakes his arms around his lover’s waist and pulls Niall’s small body into his chest all in one swift move, startling Niall and making him jump in his arms. The Irishman scrambles to sit up and shuffle a foot away from Harry in a panic, and takes a minute for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and recognize the brunette beside him.

                “Harry, you fucking scared me! Don’t do that!” he exclaims quietly, huffing at the smirk on Harry’s face.

                Harry chuckles and stretches his arms out, leaving the heat of the covers behind so he can open and close his hands at Niall, like a baby asking to be picked up, with sleep in his voice as he requests, “Come cuddle with me, boo.”

                Niall scowls and leans against the headboard, the covers only covering him waist down – not that Harry minds, his bare torso is quite fit for such a cuddly, fragile, Irish boy. His arms are crossed and a frown is on his face, but Harry doesn’t really notice – he’s a bit distracted by Niall’s tousled bedhead and the sleepiness that is adorably tugging at his tired blue eyes – until Niall replies and the tone of his voice is similar to that of a pouting toddler, “No, I’m mad at you.”

                Harry’s eyebrows crash together and the familiar dimple that always appears above his nose but below his forehead shows itself, signalling his confusion. Harry sits up as well, scooting over so that his arm is against Niall’s, reaching a hand out to lightly pull at Niall’s arm – who fails at making his ‘upset with you’ act believable by submitting to Harry’s touch – and intertwines their fingers then sets their entangled hands in the small space between their laps. “What for?”

                Niall sighs and rolls his head to face Harry’s direction, softly staring at their entwined hands – which, he notes, seem to fit together absolutely perfectly – for a moment before casting his blue gems in Harry’s direction, looking at him from under thin eyelashes. He sadly states, “I heard you talking to Maurice.”

                Harry gulps, his heart dropping into his stomach, the force of a combination of guilt and nerves weighing on his crucial, beating organ. He squeezes Niall’s hand as some form of an apology before slipping under the covers again, pulling on Niall’s hand to get the blonde to join him. They lay facing each other, Niall waiting patiently for an explanation, and Harry playing with Niall’s fingers, poking at the calloused pads and tracing the long, slim digits with his own. Quietly, he starts, “I meant to tell you. I just…I didn’t know how to go about saying that…”

                “That you’re ditching me for another blonde with more luscious locks and bigger boobs?” Niall interrupts crossly, even though his voice is more dejected and sad than angered and his eyes look more forsaken than irate.

                Harry sets a hand on Niall’s hip, rubbing his thumb in a circle to try and comfort the saddened boy beside him. With the other hand, he reaches up to Niall’s cheekbone and strokes it with his thumb, replying tenderly, “You know I don’t want to, Niall. It’s not really my choice.”

                “Tell them no,” Niall urges, placing one of his hands over top of the one of Harry’s that sits on his hip. “Tell them you’d rather be with _this_ blonde with the Irish accent and the dumb braces.”

                “I would if I could, but think about it; how do you think they’d react to that kind of news?”

                Niall blinks and looks at Harry’s chest unhappily, talking as if he had broken a rule his mother had given him and she wanted him to repeat the rule for her, “Not very well.”

                After a moment of silence, Harry moves a little closer and whispers sadly, “We both know this was going to happen eventually. We were just happier living in a fantasy world where nothing could separate us.”

                Niall nods, because Harry’s right. If Harry didn’t prove all the ‘gay’ rumors wrong by getting a girlfriend, their management was going to take matters into their own hands. Luckily for them, a certain international pop star who had just released an album and was about to take off on her own world tour was coincidentally single. Taylor Swift’s people had been called by One Direction’s people and arrangements for meetings were made without much consultation by either of the celebrities.

                “We’ll still have nights like these together right?” Niall asks hopefully, and the sparkle of optimism in Niall’s eyes is a lot harder for Harry to handle than he’d like to admit.

                The way Harry chews on his bottom lip with his pearly teeth tells Niall that the answer to his question isn’t the one he’s hoping for. With a bit of a whine accessorizing his voice, Niall inquires, “Why not?”

                “I don’t know,” Harry starts, “Maurice thinks that the more I’m separated from you and the boys, the easier it will be to believe that I’m with Taylor.”

                Niall’s eyebrows crash together in confusion, “So what does that mean?”

                Harry sighs and grimaces, pursing his lips as he explains, “It means different hotels and we’ll be in different places all the time and I’m supposed to be with Taylor nearly 24/7.”

                “Why can’t you just _say_ that you’re with Taylor in an interview and have that be it?”

                “They said everyone will think it’s a publicity stunt.”

                “It _is_ a publicity stunt!”

                “That’s not my fault, Niall; I’ve been forced into this!”

                Niall rolls over, crossing his arms over his chest again as he faces away from Harry and Harry is faced with Niall’s back; which isn’t exactly an ugly sight – to Harry it’s actually quite an attractive back with the dark freckles that litter it and how slim it is. But Niall is upset and Harry hates seeing Niall upset – the Irish boy definitely doesn’t deserve tears or heartbreak, especially if they are caused by one of the most important people in his life. So the fact that Harry may have triggered him to be upset makes the situation even worse. Harry wraps his arms around Niall’s slim waist and pulls the boy’s back snugly into his chest and rests his chin on Niall’s shoulder.

                “Don’t be mad at me please, Niall? It’s our last night together,” Harry whispers, burying his nose into Niall’s neck before pressing sweet kisses against the hot skin. To Harry’s delight, Niall turns around in Harry’s arm and avoids his eyes sheepishly.

                “Okay,” Niall says, bashfully continuing, “I’m just going to miss you is all.”

                Harry smiles at how cute the small boy is; he’s even older than Harry but he’s still absolutely adorable sometimes. He takes a slow, quiet moment to notice that Niall’s cheeks are slightly flushed – which Harry finds pride in since he’s the one who caused a blush to bloom – but his skin is porcelain smooth and a pale, creamy white where it isn’t colored a pretty pink, and his cerulean eyes are big and dewy as usual and his flaxen hair is dishevelled and his brunette roots are beginning to show and Harry doesn’t think he’s ever seen anything so beautiful. In that second, he realizes how incredibly grateful he is to hold such a flawless, gorgeous boy in his arms. “I’m going to miss you too, boo.”

                Niall moves a little closer and snakes his arms around Harry’s neck, looking up into the forest green emeralds that are boring holes into him, his voice cracking as he says, “Don’t forget about me, okay?”

                Harry is taken aback right away – he’s surprised because how could he forget this handsome boy with the contagious laugh and the wicked smile and the awkward dance moves? Immediately, he reassures him, “Never, Niall. Listen, we’ll find ways to remind each other that we’re still here for one another and we still have feelings for each other.”

                “Like what?”

                “Erm…how about secret codes? Like…if I say ‘Niall’ it means I love you. And if you say ‘Harry’ it means you love me back.”

                Niall giggles, his lips twisted up at the corners in a genuine smile, and Harry is pleased with himself for making Niall happy as he waits for a response. “We say each other’s names all the time.”

                Harry smiles delicately at Niall like everything in the world makes sense and Niall is the best thing he’s ever seen or known or had his entire life, and he replies, “Exactly.”

                Niall just grins happily and presses up against Harry, resting his head on the brunette’s chest and wondering how he ever got so lucky to have such an amazing lad in his life.

                A few quiet minutes pass as the couple cuddles; the only sounds being the traffic outside the window and Louis’ steady snores a few walls away. After Harry has just started to rest his eyes – Niall’s breath ghosting over his skin at a constant rate is starting to lull him to sleep – Niall’s urgent voice suddenly disturbs the near-silence in the room and slightly startles Harry, “You’ve not fallen asleep, have you?”

                Harry shakes his head from ,kl9o0side to side, his voice a bit groggy and drowsy, “No, no, I’m awake.”

                “Good, because we’re pulling an all-nighter,” Niall replies excitedly, though Harry can sense the sad undertone coloring his words. “If this is our last night together, I want to make the most of it. That means that not a second will be wasted.”

                “Sleeping is a waste of time?” Harry asks teasingly.

                “If I could be kissing you instead, then yes, sleeping is a waste of time,” Niall grins, gratified with his clever comeback.

                Harry smiles for a second, his green eyes visibly distant, before he dips his head in and presses his lips against Niall’s. The kiss is slow and soft and that might be because both boys are tired, but it’s mostly them just enjoying the moment. It’s not hesitant or shy, they’re just embracing each other and enjoying one of what could be their last kisses.

                “No matter what happens with Taylor,” Harry starts after they’ve pulled away, raising a hand to cup Niall’s jaw and caress the soft skin beneath his thumb, “I want you to remember that it’s _you_ who I truly care for.”

                Niall nods rapidly, muttering an “okay” before pulling Harry’s lips back against his own.

                A while passes; the fleeting minutes filled with sweet kisses and little conversation, the boys remaining as entangled and close as possible to each other.

                “You know what we should do?” Niall asks, not waiting for a response before continuing, “We should just drop this management. Fire them or something.”

                Harry sighs, leaning his head forward so that their foreheads rest against each other, “We signed a contract remember? When we thought they wouldn’t do something like this to us?”

                “They probably wouldn’t if they knew about us,” Niall speaks up, hinting towards a confession on their part.

                Harry swallows thickly, sheepishly looking away from Niall’s hopeful eyes, “I’m scared.”

                Niall takes on the comforting part and reaches up to tug on and play with Harry’s curls – a technique all five of the boys use to help him calm down or feel better, replying quietly and serenely, “You shouldn’t be scared of your own management. Besides, no matter what happens you’ll always have me.”

                Harry grins up at his favorite lad and snuggles closer, this time pressing his head, topped with a mop of curly locks, against Niall’s chest and listening to the calming beat of the blonde’s heart.

                “Maybe we tell the boys about us,” Niall says, posing it as more of a question than a statement as he entangles his legs with Harry’s.

                Harry ponders the suggestion for a moment before replying, “How about we start with our parents?”

                “I’m alright with that, too. I’m pretty sure Anne likes me.”

                “Speaking of which, you only call her hot and stuff to piss me off right?”

                Niall shrugs, muttering to him that she is pretty fit. Harry raises his head and sticks his tongue out at him and Niall chuckles in response.

                Hours pass and suddenly sunlight is passing through the blinds, and Niall and Harry have dozed off in each other’s arms, worries gone and far from their sleeping minds. Suddenly, a blaring alarm from the nightstand goes off and both lads are startled awake. Harry hurriedly looks to check the time and curses under his breath, then rushing to get out of bed and tug his clothes back on much to Niall’s objection. Resentfully, Niall stands as well and waits for Harry to dress himself before hugging him tightly. Harry feels like crying all of a sudden.

                “I’m not going off to war,” Harry laughs, trying to brush the whole thing off with a joke. Niall sniffles into his shoulder and Harry’s heart drops into his stomach a little bit. They pull back and Niall’s eyes are quickly brewing with tears, Niall’s cobalt blue eyes are moist and his lip is trembling a bit and Harry’s fighting to prove there’s nothing to cry for.

                “We’ll still be together,” Harry assures his lover, trying to lift Niall’s chin to get him to make eye contact, “We’ll see each other every day; we work together for God’s sake.”

                “It’s not the same,” Niall insists and falls into Harry’s chest again.

                Harry holds him for a few more minutes; he figures that’s the least he can do for the lad. He never meant to go and break his heart and make him cry. They finally pull away and Harry’s shoulder is only slightly damp with silent tears, and Niall is hastily wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

                “Niall,” Harry offers, referring to their secret code as he winks and tries to conjure up a smile.

                Niall sniffles and nods – there is a tug at Harry’s heartstrings when he sees the color of red that the skin around Niall’s eyes have taken on, realizing that he must have cried after Harry fell asleep too – forcing a small grin and replying, “I love you too.”

                Harry tentatively walks towards the door and pulls it open, casting an apologetic glance at poor Niall, who looks broken and gutted. Harry takes a deep breath, gathering up all his strength as he presses out a “bye” and heads back to his own hotel room, his heart now seemingly permanently low in his stomach and torn down the middle.


End file.
